Insulation -- best place to start in old house

I own a very old house "down the shore" in NJ. There is limited to no insulation in either the walls or the ceiling. Which do I do first? The roof is flat with no "attic". The walls have been updated from plaster to sheetrock. Not sure what I can do to the ceilings. Ideas?

I believe that I can attempt to blow in insulation into the walls.....that is a second question,,,,can anyone comment on how hard that it is do and how does it compare in cost to standard insulation?

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Insulation -- best place to start in old house

Can you expand on the design of the roof/ceiling? Is it flat, but constructed of like 2x8 or 2x10's with drywall for the ceiling? If so, you could start by blowing in insulation into that cavity. I agree with Dave, do whatever you can to the ceiling first for the biggest impact.

Insulation -- best place to start in old house

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ininkus

Can you expand on the design of the roof/ceiling? Is it flat, but constructed of like 2x8 or 2x10's with drywall for the ceiling? If so, you could start by blowing in insulation into that cavity. I agree with Dave, do whatever you can to the ceiling first for the biggest impact.

From there you could blow insulation into the walls fairly easy.

OK...I like that idea as the ceilings are drywalled. I have not blown in insulation so some guidance on that would be appreciated. I believe I'd cut a small hole, feed the hose, then start. How far should I expect the blower to fill?

From a cost perspective, how does the blow-in insulation compare to the rolls/sheets? I am trying to figure out the budget side of getting this done as well.

Insulation -- best place to start in old house

Dont expect much with just insullating the ceiling. I have a building that was built in the late 1800's and tried the ceiling first, maybe I picked up 2-3 degrees. Unfortunatly the walls stay cold and w/o insullation in them the heater cant warm the walls and you. I need to do the same thing as you and have analyzied it to nauseaum. Cant deal with $ 500 a month in gas bills so Blown insulation is the leaset expensive way to do it.